Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The village of Ta’u held a special ceremony Monday morning for the opening of an access road and the groundbreaking for the building of a Department of Health (DOH) clinic which will bring essential health services to the Manu’a islands.

Treasurer HTC Malemo Tausaga was the Master of Ceremonies for the event. The opening prayer was delivered by Reverend Elder Iosefa Autele from Malamalama O le Lalolagi CCCAS, Ta’u.

Governor Lemanu P. S.  Mauga in his special remarks commended the Department of Public Works (DPW) and Silva Group, who are the contractors for the projects — the access road completion and the beginning of the new clinic in Ta’u.

“This road will be used by our community to make traveling easy, easy for transportations and especially a road to use in times of natural disasters,” said Governor Lemanu.

The new road brings the total to three completed roads in Ta’u and Faleasao, with many more roads set to begin construction throughout the Manu’a Islands in the near future.

Lemanu emphasized the importance of having a clinic for the community, noting that “building this new clinic will be convenient and essential so that proper medical attention is provided.”

DoH Director Motusa Nua outlined some of the essential services that will be included in the new clinic: Primary Care, Behavioral health, Dental service, Women/Children healthcare, Dialysis and Pharmacy.

The construction of the new clinic is on higher grounds (dependent on FEMA consideration) and will be closer to the schools for the convenience of the children.

The landowner where the new road goes through thanked the governor for making these projects possible for Manu’a, emphasizing that building a clinic is crucial for our people.

The DPW Director Faleosina Voigt explained that the road projects were initiated under an executive order from Governor Lemanu, declaring a state of emergency for the Manu’a islands due to natural disasters that impacted the region from 2020-2022. As a result, the department undertook the construction of access roads throughout the islands to serve as evacuation routes for the public. The new road is 1.6 miles long.

Mrs. Fainu’ulelei Jacinta Scanlan-Silva of the Silva Group expressed their satisfaction in serving the people of American Samoa. She stated, “We are happy to provide service to American Samoa through infrastructure and shipping.”

(Source: Governor's Office press release)